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Foie Gras and Duck Made Simple with Chef Alain Allegretti at Allegretti

Foie gras sounds fancy and intimidating, but it's actually really simple. We visit Allegretti Restaurant in Manhattan, where Chef Alain Allegretti shows us how to make this sophisticated dish just in time for Valentine's Day. Foie gras may not be your typical weekday dinner, but with this easy recipe, it definitely can be!

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Featured Recipes

Pan-Seared Duck Breast and Sautéed Foie Gras by Chef Alain Allegretti

Behind the Burner: Pan-Seared Duck Breast and Sautéed Foie Gras by Chef Alain Allegretti

INGREDIENTS:

4 duck breasts with skin
4 slices of foie gras (duck liver), 3/4 inch thick
2 green apples
20 seedless grapes
1/2 bottle of port wine
4 tbsp. of canola oil
4 ounces of butter
2 tbsp. of sugar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

PREPARATION:

For the Duck Breasts:
1. Salt both sides of duck breast and sauté in 2 tbsp. of canola oil over low heat.
2. Cook for about 5 minutes—until the skin becomes crispy. Turn the breasts over and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Set aside.

For the Foie Gras:
1. Cut small slits on one side of each piece of foie gras. Salt both sides.
2. Over high heat, cook both sides of the foie gras until you achieve a golden color. Set aside on a cooling rack.

Garnish:
1. Cut each apple into eight slices.
2. Over medium heat, add 1 tbsp of canola oil to a sauté pan and cook apples until you achieve a golden color.
3. Reduce to low heat and add 2 ounces of butter and 1 tbsp. of sugar to pan. Continue cooking apples until tender, 4-5 minutes. 4. As the apples cook, continue to spoon the butter/sugar mixture over the apples. Set aside.
5. In a pot of boiling water, cook grapes for 20 seconds.
6. Put the grapes in a bowl of water and ice to cool down. Remove the skin and cook the same way as the apples.

For the sauce:
1. Over medium heat, pour the 1/2 bottle of port wine into a sauté pan.
2. Cook the wine until it has the consistency of syrup.

Plating:
1. Preheat the oven to 385 degrees and cook the duck for 2-3 minutes. Slice each breast length wise.
2. In the oven, reheat the foie gras and the garnishes until warm (2-3 minutes).
3. In the center, top-half of a dinner plate, place the grapes and apples slices into a loose dome stack. Below and to the left of the fondant, place one slice of foie gras. To the right of the foie gras, at a 45 degree angle, stack the two slices of duck. Drizzle entire plate with wine sauce.

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Tips, Tricks and Techniques

  • D'Artagnan great for gourmet duck, including Pekin, Moulard and Muscovy
  • For juicy-but-crispy duck, score or cut small slits into the meat
  • Use a thin blade to easily cut through foie gras
  • Dip knife into boiling water before cutting foie gras
  • Since foie gras has high fat content, scoring helps the fat melt away
  • Cook foie gras on high heat without additional fat
  • Let duck cook undisturbed and skin side down
  • Remove fat regularly as the foie gras cooks
  • Star anise has warm sweet spice notes similar to clove and cinnamon
  • To get golden brown color faster, add a touch of butter
  • Finish cooking fruit in the oven otherwise it may burn

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